Back when evolution had yet to decide on the best way to do teeth, there were edestids, sharklike creatures whose lower jaw just kept growing out and out in a spiral for the shark's entire lifetime. This was so ridiculous I thought it must be a hoax, but I also saw an edestid jaw fossil in the AMNH. I still think there's a good chance it's a hilarious Iguanadon-thumb-like misunderstanding. The Smithsonian is also skeptical, and presents a reconstruction where the spiral teeth go down the shark's throat.

When I was a kid I owned an awesome globe of Mars that my mother and I found at a yard sale in LA. When my mother died I mailed it to myself and, as long-time NYCB readers know, it was lost by the doubly-damned US Postal Service. But thanks to the Whipple museum I found the name of the globe manufacturer, so I can get one from eBay, though I'm not going to do that this instant.

I saw a cool vocal theremin. I think how it works is: you make a shape with your hands and it vocalizes the sound you'd make if you made that shape with your mouth. But I'm not sure and technical detail was sadly lacking because it was in an art exhibit. Good job, though, Michael Markert, 2007.